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Retirement. Publishers, thank you for the many years of reading pleasure you gave me, but all good things must come to an end. Due to failing eyesight I am forced to retire. I can no longer review your books, and any that you send will be donated to the local library, unread. Do not send any more. I can only read for a couple hours every day, and this does not allow me to finish a book in reasonable time. I will be devoting time to my own books from now on, and reading on a personal level. Books that interest me. I prefer paperbacks and hardbacks, not eBooks. My eyesight has been failing the last few years, and I cannot handle hundreds of review books any more. My books are still available for review. Anyone interested in reviewing any of them, they are found in the Link to Tom’s Books On Amazon. Contact me for pdf copies at fadingshadows40@gmail.com

Saturday, January 30, 2016

A dying
Nobel Prize-winning nuclear scientist threatens Los Angeles with an
unfathomable doom, submerged deeply offshore. Will L.A.'s finest with aid from
the U.S. Navy, USCG, FBI, and DHS unravel his ciphered clues and find it in
time? Is Southern California's annihilation imminent as the calendar flips to
pi day?

A
gripping tale of greed, revenge, and intrigue, PI DAY DOOMSDAY leads you into
the deranged world of madness and retribution surrounding a malevolent genius,
banished from science, living on the edge of insanity, intent on destroying
humanity. A thriller like no others, this one holds you in suspense until the
last millisecond.

PI DAY DOOMSDAY
(Thriller)

By John Paul Cater

ASIN #BO13Y50TOG

Price $3.14

257 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“Fast-Paced Thrills.”

Simon Fogner, PhD,
Nobel Laureate, and nuclear physicist, has a score to settle with the world. A
mathematical genius, he uses pi to plan the destruction of Los Angeles, and all
of southern California. He builds two thermonuclear bombs he names Adam &
Eve, and maps out the best location to cause the maximum destruction. He has
planned for his two bombs to form the symbol of pi when the nuclear clouds form
and touch.

Exposed to the deadly material
he is already dying of radiation sickness. His skin is pealing off, and he’s
bleeding out, yet he manages to stay alive long enough to place his terrible
weapons then leaves a coded poem for authorities; he uses a form of anagram to
write his message in the poem, and plans to leave it with the news media.
However, when that fails, he drops the envelope through the open window of a
California Highway Patrol vehicle parked at a Starbucks. The letters WMD
written on the envelope warns CHP Officer Mica Brisco that this could be
important. His captain is away for the week, so he drops it off with the
Sheriff’s Office. Within 12 hours, his phone rings and he’s ordered to appear
at SID for questioning. Arriving, Brisco finds a task force in place, including
FBI, Homeland Security, the Sheriff’s Office, Cryptanalysis, Forensic Computer
Analysis, Forensic Psychiatrist, and a doctor of nuclear physics. The taskforce
– or A-Team - will grow before the case is over, to include the Navy and other
civilian specialists. The taskforce is working on the belief there is one bomb,
Adam, not realizing there is a second, Eve, until the last hours of pi –
3.14159.

Wow, this is what
makes a good movie. With zero hour ticking away, the taskforce must discover
the location of the bombs, and either disable them, or make them harmless some
other way. Each bomb is at least 20 times the power of the bombs dropped on
Japan, and will literally vaporize L.A. in an instant. I was especially taken
with the villain – a super villain in every sense of the word. His flesh
literally falling off, he should have been dead before he could put his bombs
together; yet he not only builds them, places them in the ocean, and runs
around L.A. most of the book dressed like the Grim Reaper. The writing is
topnotch, the characters are three-dimensional, and the plot is fresh and
imaginative. Thriller lovers will not want to miss this one, and I can highly
recommend it to readers who just like a good yarn.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

The
blistering sequel to The Ascendant: An action-packed thriller starring a
bond trader turned antihero. Unlikely patriot Garrett Reilly can identify
threats against America from both inside and outside the nation’s borders. But
now the whole world’s economy is at risk…

Garrett
Reilly sees what others do not: numbers, patterns, a nation on the brink of
collapse. His unique talents saved countries from falling into a world war in The
Ascendant. But it also made him a marked man―marked by terrorist groups;
marked by the US Government.

In
The King of Fear, Garrett recognizes a string of events that could lead
to economic Armageddon in the US: banks closing, grocery shelves lying empty,
the nation’s currency rendered worthless. Total chaos could engulf society
within a matter of days. Garrett and the Ascendant team reunite to face enemies
on all sides: a wounded Russia bent on keeping its crumbling empire in place, a
cyber genius fixated on Garrett, a femme fatale willing to do anything to
establish a new world order. In the midst of this, Garrett must also confront
his own demons: his class rage, growing paranoia, and a dependency that he
cannot seem to shake. After all, it only takes one card to make the whole house
fall…

The
King of Fear (Thriller)

“The
Complete Saga”

Simon
& Shuster

ISBN
#978-1476725918

Price
$8.82 (Pre-Order)

364
Pages

Rating
4-Stars

“An
Unlikely Hero”

This book actually
contains Books #1, 2 & 3, which follow the premiere novel, THE ASCENDANT.
Garrett Reilly is a financial genius. He sees numbers, and recognizes global bonds
and money traffic. He was part of a team in The Ascendant stopping an
attack that could have resulted in war, and now it appears terrorists are after
him, and planning another attack on the West. In Part 1, the President of the
Federal Reserve is assassinated, and his killer names Garrett as the man behind
the assassination. In Book #2, the team is up against a mysterious terrorist,
while Garrett struggles with his own drug addiction. Book #3 brings THE KING OF
FEAR to a conclusion, but only after discovering the terrorist attack may have
a personal connection.

I came into the series
cold; not having read THE ASCENDANT first, and then was given this edition
containing the three novels. Although the writing was good, and the characters
interesting, it was a real task finding the book itself interesting. I felt that
the main character, Garrett Reilly was hard to believe as the hero. An injury in a
bar fight had cracked his skull, leaving him with headaches, and on a lot of
pain killers; plus, at times he was filled with paranoia and didn’t know who he
could trust. The drugs certainly helped in his confusion. Cyber attacks and
hidden power money is a good plot, but I felt we needed a better hero than Garrett to save the world. He could have been the go-to man behind the scenes,
but not the front line G-I Joe. Still, readers who like a good thriller will
find this series a good read. It just wasn’t of interest for me.

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Take a step into the light of God’s glory. When a
construction worker, Jasper, is involved in a workplace accident that renders
him blind, he begins a journey, seeing more than he could ever dream possible.
After a near death experience, Jasper is granted a second chance at life.
Awakening in a hospital, he crosses paths with a company of Seven divine
Angels. Diagnosed to have brain damage, Jasper becomes ensnared in the
spiritual warfare between Angels and Demons.

A specific band of Demons, The Insufferable Six, try to
thwart the good efforts of the Seven Angels at every turn, but will Jasper be
the element to tip the balance for good or evil? Find out how Seven Celestial
friends help to lead a blind man to the ultimate confrontation with the Devil
and help to strengthen the earth.

Jasper
And The Shelter of Angels (Christian Fiction)

By
Robert A. Hunt

Wordpainter
Publishing

ASIN
#BOOA2QCBH2

Price
$2.99 Kindle

223
Pages

Rating
5-Stars

“War
Between Good And Evil.”

Jasper works for
Princeton Construction Corp. in Princeton, near the Cascade Mountains. One day
he is helping his buddy pull the bell on top of the new church when the bell
slips off, and thinking of his buddy’s safety first, Jasper attaches his safety
line to him, and is himself pulled off the roof with the bell. He falls hard,
hitting his head against the concrete, and is taken to the hospital. He’s
considered blind, and may have brain damage also. But strangely he can see –
especially the demons and angels. God sends seven of His angels to help Jasper:
West, Starr, Wilson, Joel, Elana, Taila, and Roger. The Devil sends The
Insufferable Six: Morbidant, Dialucious, Krustatious, Wengroangrinch, Vyxcious,
and Gewgaw to interfere with them. It’s a constant battle between good and
evil, and Jasper appears to be the prize.

This made a good
Sunday School lesson, and we are treated to Bible study, as well as seeing the
every day struggle people face with good and evil decisions we make. The story
is told with some humor, as the doctors and nurses think Jasper is crazy. After
all, not only does he see angels, he sees them at war with demons in the
hospital. But then we also see Jesus bring about Satan’s end, and the Kingdom
of Heaven in all its Glory. What a wonderful story. Highly recommended especially
for Christians, and suggested reading for everyone.

Monday, January 18, 2016

Fighter pilot Gary Forsythe is a man on fire. He’s
tough, steely-eyed, hunted by many and feared by all. He’s British Secret
Service—a striking predecessor to James Bond—with a chip on his shoulder and a
.50 caliber machinegun in his flying killing machine. He is The
Devil—With Wings.

The Japanese have invaded Manchuria, and Forsythe has made
it his mission to stop them. Japanese Military Intelligence has made it
their mission to knock the Devil out of the skies. But a dogfight with
the Imperial Japanese Air Force is child’s play compared to the challenge that
awaits him….

Her name is Patricia Weston.
Japanese spies have falsely accused the British pilot of murdering her
brother—and now she wants vengeance. And for once in his life, Forsythe
is disarmed—by his love for a woman who has vowed to kill him.

The Devil With Wings (Aviation
Adventure)

By L. Ron Hubbard

Galaxy Press www.goldenagestories.con

ISBN
#978-1592123094

Price $9.95

138 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“Fantastic Air
Adventure.”

Gary Forsythe is Akuma-no-Hane, the Devil
With Wings, and deadly flyer the invading Japanese hate and fear. They have a
large price on his head. He appears to be aiding Russia and the Chinese in
their fight with the Japanese, but no one knows why, except maybe Ching
Tze-Chang, Forsythe’s Yale educated aide. When they learn that Forsythe has
been blamed for the murder of an American engineer named Robert Weston, and
that his sister, Patricia Weston is in China gunning for Akuma-no-Hane, it’s
time for Forsythe to get to the bottom of things – before the girl shoots him
by mistake.

This was a fun adventure. Forsythe
dresses all in black, except for a silver belt buckle, and wears
helmeted-goggles effectively disguising his identity from the Japanese. There
is a running confrontation between Forsythe and Captain Ito Shirohari of
Japanese Intelligence throughout the story. Of course, Ito wants to kill
Forsythe, but never gets the upper hand. Meantime, Forsythe suspects the
captain of crimes against the Japanese government, which could cause the little
Japanese a lot of trouble with his own people. For adventure and aviation
lovers, this is a fine example of the genre, and highly recommended for lovers
of a good yarn.

Saturday, January 16, 2016

The greatest deceptions are never suspected.
After twenty years with the Tararian Selective Service, Cris Sietinen is in the
unprecedented position of being both Lead Agent and heir to a High Dynasty.
Family, career, information—it would seem he has it all. But when his
fourteen-year-old son, Wil, is captured by the mysterious Bakzen, Cris is
forced to question all that he once took for granted in his life. Only one
thing remains clear: it's imperative he rescue Wil. What Cris and Wil learn in
the process will change their perception forever. Veil of Reality is the second
installment in the Cadicle series, a new space opera epic with elements of
"Dune" and "Ender's Game." This fast-paced adventure novel
with intrigue, danger and self-discovery begins to untie the knot of secrets
binding the TSS, High Dynasties and the Priesthood.

Veil of Reality (SF

“Cadicle Book Series #2”

By Amy DuBoff

BDL Press

ISBN #978-0692589137

Price $9.99

234 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“Science Fiction At Its Best.”

In this sequel to ARCHITECTS OF DESTINY, it
has been two decades since we left Cris and Kate Sietinen. Their son, Wil, is
14 and shares their heightened ability of telekinetic powers, and shows signs
of hidden strength that might prove beneficial to either side in the ongoing
war between the TSS and the Bakzen Empire. A traitor within the TSS opens a
doorway for a Bakzen team to enter the headquarters and kidnap Wil. Cris is
given the ship, Vanquish, and penetrates the Bakzen defensive net to rescue Wil.
In the process, Cris and Wil learn more about the ongoing war with the Bakzen Empire,
and the people behind the conflict.

There are still secrets being kept from them,
but the readers learn more about the reason for the war, and now the status of
good and evil is not so easily defined. The more I get into this series, the
more I’m reminded of the Null-A series by A.E. van Vogt, and the game players
that sparked that series. Like the great science fiction of the early years,
the Cadicle series has a feel of inspired prediction for our future. Whether a
fan of early SF, or modern, readers will find “Veil of Reality” a great read.
Highly recommended.